


Day 4 - Immortality

by moshimichi



Series: ZarcRay Week 2018 [4]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: AU, F/M, like how do I say this, nonconsent but not in a sexual premise, nonsexual non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 08:04:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14052561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moshimichi/pseuds/moshimichi
Summary: Immortality isn’t for everyone, but some won’t understand that.





	Day 4 - Immortality

Harsh breathing filled the air, cut every now and then by sharp, painful coughs. Yellow eyes glared up weakly and teeth were bared in a menacing warning to stay away. Footsteps not at all phased by the intimidating expression, Ray came to a stop in front of him. She raised her hand toward him and he flinched away from the glowing bracelets.

“Stop,” Zarc hissed. He was too weak to back away and could only watch as the faint light grew brighter. The woman looked on as hysteria and desperation grew in his eyes, even tingeing his voice. “You bitch, I said stop!”

His outcries were met with a sad smile. If he hadn’t known better, he would even say that she regretted what she was doing. But he did know. And she didn’t regret it at all.

“No!”

The multi-colored light flared out and swallowed him up along with his cries. Ray watched unblinkingly, all too used to the blinding light, and slowly it faded away. All that was left was a small infant on the ground, swaddled in what remained of Zarc’s clothes. She stepped forward, picking up the child and cradling him close to her heart.

“It’s time to start over again.”

-

The first time she had met him, he had been but a child. Only eight summers old, the small human had been excitable and energetic, flyaway hair only adding to his charm. Those yellow eyes, bright and cheerful, drew her in long before their gazes ever met.

A human with the ability to see her wasn’t uncommon, although it was certainly rare among their numbers. It took a special kind to be able to see her even when she wasn’t actively allowing it.

Zarc’s powers were strong. He could see all kinds of spirits, hear them, speak with them,  _interact_  with them. And there was something else in his character, his very soul, that drew them to him. Ray was no exception.

She grew affectionate towards him and became a guardian of sorts, always looking out for him when there was trouble. That affection grew to become what humans likely called love. Romantic, platonic, familial… She felt, however, that mere words were not enough to encompass what she felt.

Even better, her love was returned. Perhaps not to the same extent, but Zarc loved her nonetheless and she could feel nothing but pure joy.

Years passed as they spent their days together. Zarc grew older, wiser, and she…

She didn’t age one bit. How could she? Ray was a spirit. A ‘god’ in human terms. One with the very earth, Ray was a deity responsible for nature itself.

But she realized as she watched Zarc grow older and older that he was moving on without her. He still loved her, of course, but as a human being, he was moving down the road of life to a place where she would not be able to follow. Ray could do nothing to stop Zarc from aging and one day he would die and leave her behind.

_“Don’t worry, Ray. It might not be soon, but we **will**_   _meet again someday.”_

She could not allow that to happen.

So for the first time since she came into being, she used her powers and broke the natural laws of the world. Ray could not stop Zarc from aging, but she could set his time back, resetting his body to his day of birth and separation from his biological mother.

Ray essentially trapped Zarc in a life of immortality with her.

-

Her second relationship with Zarc wasn’t quite the same.  _Zarc_ wasn’t quite the same. Perhaps it was that nature versus nurture theory the humans talked about. While his soul and base personality remained unchanged, his experiences were different. What with how quickly the humans were advancing in terms of knowledge and technology, it was nigh impossible to make it so.

But he was still Zarc and he still loved her. It didn’t matter that he didn’t remember their previous life together. It mattered even less his protests when she had reset him. He still loved her and she was sure that one day he would see it her way.

On the eighteenth year of his second life, something changed. His powers, which had also been reset, had reached his peak limits once more just as it had the first time. With that, somehow, Zarc began to remember.

It was only small things at first. Little moments, minor habits, things that he should not know in the second cycle. Ray paid it no mind at the time. It was only bringing them closer together.

On his nineteenth birthday, Zarc remembered  _everything_.

He raged at the realization. Humans were not meant to last forever, no matter how much some wanted to do so. He wasn’t supposed to  _be_  here. Perhaps he could have been reincarnated, but he should not have been brought back so unnaturally, forced into a second life as ‘Zarc’ against his will.

His powers burst forth and he fought against her, refusing to see things her way. He would not be chained down like this. He refused to let her just do as she would without a single thought to his own desires! Saddened by this, she reset him again. Perhaps he would be more agreeable the next cycle.

_“It’s not right, Ray!”_

_“Don’t do this!”_

_“Please! Stop! I don’t want to live as me anymore!”_

**_“I thought you loved me!”_ **

His pleas and curses fell upon deaf ears each time as she reset him again and again, always on his nineteenth birthday. His personality varied every time, experiences always different, but he would always remember and the results were always the same.

He grew more and more bitter each time he remembered and he never did see it her way. But it was alright, they had all of eternity together.

Perhaps he’ll change his mind in the next cycle.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr [here](http://moshimichi.tumblr.com/post/172109055746/day-4-immortality).


End file.
